Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

Original poster

11 month old won't eat bloody anything, tearing my hair out.

80 replies

ruty · 16/04/2009 10:10

Ds ate like a horse. Dd has always been fussy, at the breast [better now but not a huge feeder] refuses all formula and bottles, and hates food. At 6 months anything that went in her mouth was met with crying, outrage, gagging. Slowly got better but suddenly the last couple of weeks she has been refusing all breakfast [baby cereal, small pieces of toast and butter] spitting ou the fruit puree sachets she used to have as snacks, refusing supper. She has always rejected the chicken cassroles i make her, she chews small pieces of chicken and roasted carrot then spits them out, gags on mashed potato, and now rejects the little organix chicken baby food she used to accept.

I know she can swallow and chew because i tried her with a piece of chocolate the other day [would never have allowed ds at that age] and she wolfed it down happily. She like ice cream too. And teddy bear crisps, terribly salty, but her brother has given her a few and she loves them

So what the hell do i do? She will only eat high sugar, salty food, and not much at that. She is small for her age, but i haven't had her weighed for ages, now she is rejecting pretty much everything i am going to get her weighed tomorrow. Really really exasperated now. Any ideas?

OP posts:
becaroo · 21/04/2009 19:47

...I love mayo with my fish finger sarnies Also roast parsnip sandwiches with mint sauce - but I feel I may be on my own on that one!!!!

Isnt it strange that they will eat a certain foodstuff a certain way and no other? Drives me mad!! i.e. avocado in a sandwich
My ds1 is like that with chicken...will only eat the horrid chicken fingers - bluergh

Original poster
ruty · 21/04/2009 22:00

no supper at all. well, the littlest bit of risotto, just the rice, no chicken or veg. No pudding.

OP posts:
AitchTwoOh · 21/04/2009 22:47

but what are you angry about, though? it's not about you... try not to take it personally, she sure as hell doesn't mean it that way.

Original poster
ruty · 22/04/2009 10:04

i just felt a bit judged by the HV Aitch. I'm not angry with dd, just a bit exasperated. I have to keep a food diary over these next two weeks and then report back.

OP posts:
nappyaddict · 22/04/2009 10:09

What about yoghurt, cheese, little cherry tomatoes, chunks of peeled cucumber, slices of peeled pear, segments of orange, mashed banana, chopped seedless grapes, raisins, scrambled egg.

DS is going through a fussy stage atm and will only eat the above things.

AitchTwoOh · 22/04/2009 10:56

oh good, bloomin' HVs. what practical help is she offering you, other than a raised eyebrow?

Original poster
ruty · 22/04/2009 12:59

yoghurt - nah-nah [said in style of family fortunes]
cheese - nah-nah [will occasionally takes small pieces of that revolting dairy lea strip cheese her brother likes - yes i do buy organic cheese but it is rejected]
cherry tomatoes - occasionally
cucumber/pear/orange/banana/scrambled egg - I am given me a look of 'wtf are you trying to do to me, are you mad woman?'
chopped grapes - usually chewed a spat out again, but last night she did eat a few
raisins - haven't tried yet.

OP posts:
Original poster
ruty · 22/04/2009 12:59

I am given a look I mean..

OP posts:
dairymoo · 22/04/2009 13:33

Sorry that you ar finding this stressful Ruty - but it does sound as though the key might be finding opportunitites to eat together, whether that be with you joining in, or some of her (or her DB's) friends around.

I have 20mo DTs who are, for the most part, complete gannets (I do realise how lucky I am) but even they have periods where they get really fussy. I've found that during these times taking the focus off the highchair and set meal times works best. I.e. Leaving around plates of little sandwiches, bits of cheese, fruit, etc that they can pick at while they are playing. Or having a picnic outside with everyone sharing off a platter. They often eat absent mindedly if I hand them snacks (a little box of raisins / half a banana) while wheeling them around the shops.

One of my DDs also goes through phases of having very definite ideas about which food she will eat - i.e. pasta sauce should be red. when presented with a bowl of green pesto pasta she rejects it, but if it is squirted with tomato ketchup (bleugh!) and mixed around until it looks red she will eat it . Is there any way that you can keep a box from Pret and 'mock up' a sandwich at home and see if the approach works for ohter varieties??

Hope some of this helps! In the meantime, I feel for you...

dairymoo · 22/04/2009 13:37

Re-readng your post about your DD enjoying feeding you, this reaminded me that during the fussy times my DTs seem to like pretending to feed their dolls and then being 'fed' by them too. Admittedly this does mean that I have to manipulate a doll holding a spoon loaded with yogurt but if it means they eat something , I am happy to comply!

nappyaddict · 22/04/2009 15:40

Have you tried strawberries or raspberries? They are quite sweet.

nappyaddict · 22/04/2009 15:47

Oh and those squeezy yoghurts in pouches or frubes. DS likes the novelty factor of those. When he starts getting disinterested in them I freeze them for a change.

Original poster
ruty · 22/04/2009 18:40

hopefully when she gets older dairy moo she might pick up little sandwiches, etc. She is impossible to distract, if i distract her enough to get food in, if she does not want it, she'll spit it right back out again. She loves feeding me but of course flicks the spoon around so food ends up everywhere, especially on new Laura Ashley wallpaper [one wall only, ok?] Yes, bad idea.

she was eating blueberries until recently nappyaddict. Looks at strawberries as if they are toxic. haven't tried raspberries. She ate about two of those tube yoghurts until she realised food was going into her mouth so now rejects them. Will try freezing them though, thanks for tip. She loves ice lollies so something more nutritious would be good.

OP posts:
AitchTwoOh · 22/04/2009 21:49

you can mash banana and freeze it too, ruty. do it in those silly wee yoghurt pots or similar size and stick a calpol spoon in.

do you make pinwheel sarnies for her? dd1 likes these enormously, for some reason, i think it's that she joins in with the palaver, being older.

anyway, rolling pin on a piece of soft brown bread to flatten out, then philly or mashed avocado or whatever, then roll up and slice into pinwwheels. might be worth a try for the novelty value?

AitchTwoOh · 22/04/2009 21:50

meant to say... she's three and still picks the filling out of most sandwiches. probably no bad thing that she's not as addicted to bread as her mother.

Original poster
ruty · 23/04/2009 08:30

thanks Aitch, I'll try. She was screaming in her cot at midnight last night so I put her in bed with us, and she was still bouncing around eyes wide open at 1am, and I was just thinking 'How did I create this thing with a will of steel?' I'm a bit scared of all the battles to come.

OP posts:
lissywoo · 28/04/2009 15:28

Hey im new to this and looking for some advice... my 9 mth old has completely stopped eating anything on a spoon. He will eat food he can hold himself but he doesnt get enough this way or enough nutrition etc. He even cries at the sight of his bowl and spoon! This is a very recent problem as he was eating fine until about a week and a half ago. Any advice??

raffers82 · 28/04/2009 21:54

Hi lissywoo, i had exactly the same problem with my little boy (now 14 months) and he still hates spoons. Try Jenny Maizel's book 'Finger feeding' for recipe ideas - there's no reason why he can't get enough nutrition from finger foods, most things can by eaten by the fingers you'd be surprised. it's also worth reading up about BLW, even if you don't want to go down that route it will help you to feel a bit better about the whole issue of finger feeding. If the spoon upsets him don't use it! it is frustrating but as long as you offer healthy foods he will eat as much/little as he needs to eat.

Also, is he teething? i found that this worsened the spoon problem, as he would sometimes allow spoon feeding immediately after a tooth had finally come through, but would go straight back to only wanting to self feed when the next tooth started coming through.

If you allow him to finger feed he will probably get to grips with spoon feeding himself fairly soon but until then i think you must let him eat by whatever means he wants to! don't don't don't try to force a spoon on him - when i tried this with mine he protested by refusing to eat anything for several days after!

cheerfulvicky · 29/04/2009 12:58

Ask them if you can buy just their avacado in bulk
I love Pret a manger...

lissywoo · 29/04/2009 13:15

Hey raffers82 thanks so much for your advice. Really aprreciate it. Will def look up that book. He just got a tooth through last week so im not sure if that is part of the problem or not. Its good to know that he is not the only baby doing this!!

MammaTiggy · 29/04/2009 13:26

ruty - do you think she would drink formula milk if you mixed it with some crusha? my 3 year old wont drink milk at all unless its got strawberry crusha with it, i dont think it could be that bad for her and if it got her to drink a bit of formula it would be good because there is a lot of nutrients and calories in formula milk.

MammaTiggy · 29/04/2009 13:34

what about nutella on toast?

Blissbird · 14/04/2011 21:41

The first thing to remember is they are clever little buggers who are designed to push the boundaries. If you calm down about food and only offer one meal at breakfast, lunch and tea-time without any snacks no matter how they protest they will soon try the food you put in from of them. Children at this age will not starve themselves.
I went through the same thing with my now nearly 3 year old. He soon learned that if he didn't eat the food there was nothing else. I also stopped his milk in the morning and evening at 14 months, the only milk he was having at the time and it only took two days to get him eating breakfast. Something he had always refuesed as he knew milk was coming.
Food seams to be the one thing the little monkeys have us over a barrel with until we get wise to them. Be strong and stick to three meals a day without snacks for a week to see if there is any improvement.
Good luck and you are clearly doing something right as your little tot is as smart as they come.

TheSkiingGardener · 15/04/2011 08:50

Crikey, she is strong willed isn't she! I guess I would go with the food time is playtime idea. All sit at the table and have fun with food, her feeding you, you feeding her etc. And not making it a battle, because if it is a battle she has an easy win.

Good luck, and the HV doesn't sound very useful so remember you can ignore her as much as you want!

Fiddledee · 15/04/2011 16:18

I had a terrible problem with my DD, she really didn't eat proper meals until she was over 2. She was also BF. I did start leaving food around in little pots around the house and she would eat and play - she seemed to dread sitting at the table no matter how fun I made it. DD much preferred snacks than eating meals so I made the snacks into mini meals. I lost alot of weight due to the worry. My child won't eat book is good but I do think "meals without tears" more helpful in a practical sense.

Second child completely different self weaned at before 1. However, he has only a range of food he enjoys and will starve himself unless he has food he likes. Sigh, sigh.

Swipe left for the next trending thread